1. Field
The invention is in the field of spill resistant lids or caps for beverage cups or glasses.
2. State of the Art
There are various lids or caps currently available to be placed on beverage cups or glasses to help prevent spillage of the beverage contained therein. A common type of lid is a disposable lid made of a thin plastic material which is snapped onto the top of paper or plastic soft drink cups at fast food restaurants. This type of lid has either an X shaped cut or a perforated circular hole in the top through which a straw is inserted. For hot drinks such as coffee served by fast food restaurants or convenience stores, similar lids or caps are provided, but usually must be removed prior to use. With the lids removed, all spill resistance is lost.
There have recently been introduced in the market a number of non-disposable cups or similar containers having removable lids thereon with openings therein so that coffee or other hot beverages can be carried in a spill resistant manner and can be drunk from such containers through the opening in the lid. Some of these containers have drinking openings wherein a closure means is operated by the user's tongue or by the users finger. Other lids merely have small openings therein, some with a lip about the circumference of the lid to provide a reservoir for any liquid that does escape through the hole. With such lids, however, unless one can see the hole in the lid, it is difficult to align the hole with the user's mouth to prevent spillage. The user may attach the lid to the cup or container and position the access hole relative to the container handle so that he always drinks from the general area of the lid access hole. However, for commonly used disposable cups that have no handle, attempting to relocate the lid access hole each time the user takes a drink can be quite annoying, especially when holding the container one-handedly in the dark, as when driving an automotive vehicle at night.